Electrical target apparatus for surface projectile game



March 8, 1966 P. w. ROOPE 3,239,227

ELECTRICAL TARGET APPARATUS FOR SURFACE PROJECTILE GAME Filed May 6, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 8, 1966 P. w. ROOPE 3,239,227

ELECTRICAL TARGET APPARATUS FOR SURFACE PROJECTILE GAME Filed May 6, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 s 4 /l A /77/ 7 g hm (4/ United States Patent M 3,239,227 ELECTRICAL TARGET APPARATUS FOR SURFACE PROJECTILE GAME Pauntley Whittiugton Roope, 10 Hawkins St., Artarmon, near Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Filed May 6, 1963, Ser. No. 278,164 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-127) This invention relates to bowls practising apparatus and more particularly to apparatus of the kind which can be conveniently used indoors and which has been specifically designed to simulate the game of lawn bowls as actually played on the rink out of doors.

It is well known that there are many devices used indoors for the practice of field sports, but almost without exception the apparatus is, of necessity, on a reduced scale and the use thereof does not afford the player the same conditions as when the game is being played out of doors.

With particular reference to the game of lawn bowls it is considered in many quarters that the miniature game of carpet bowls" affords the player valuable practice in this sphere of sport. However, it is obvious that the player can never hope to practice the correct placement and length if bowling on an indoor surface using bowls of reduced size over a distance which is only a fraction of the length of a full size green in actual play.

The present invention has been devised to enable the user to practice the delivery of full size lawn bowls indoors with the same force as would be required on a full size bowling green.

In its broadest aspect, the invention comprises an inclined playing surface, adjustable means connected to the inclined surface at one end thereof for supporting said surface, score indicator means mounted above or on the inclined surface and adapted to be actuated by a bowl, confining rails running parallel to and mounted on the sides of the inclined surface, and a back stop retained on the high end of the inclined surface.

The invention will now be described in more detail with specific reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side ele-vational view of the invention in a second, and preferred, form.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a detailed plan view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the six contact operating frames seen in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 showing the preferred form of making electrical contact to operate visual indicators.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view similar to the right hand end of FIG. 5 and illustrating a second form of contact.

FIG; 7 is an enlarged section on the line 7-7 of FIG. 4 and illustrates the torsional or clutch effect imparted to the frame pivot by springs.

FIG. 8 is a detailed view, similar in lay out to FIG. 5, of one means for temporarily maintaining closed contact of the form illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a section on the line 9--9 of FIG. 2 illustrating the visual score indicator mounted above the playing surface of the device.

3,239,227 Patented Mar. 8, 1966 In one practical application, shown in FIG. 1, an inclined surface measuring approx. 6'0" x 2'0" 10 is made up from a sheet of flat material such as timber, hardboard or light weight metal. At one end the surface 10 is supported on a pair of legs 11 which are preferably adjustable with regards to their height in order that the inclination of the playing surface It may be varied at will. The surface 10 may be covered with a smooth surfaced material such as felt, canvas, or baize.

Mounted above the surface 10 and transversely thereto, there is a slider bar 12 of light weight material which is supported at either end by a pair of rails 13, which run the full length relative to the sides of the playing surface 10, said slider bar 12 being mounted in such a position as to obstruct a lawn bowl when in play.

A back stop 14 is provided on the playing surface 10 at the remote or high end thereof, and is preferably made of sponge rubber or other highly resilient material which will readily absorb the impact of a bowl after a hard drive assuming the device is being used without the slider bar 12 in place.

Each support rail 13 is graduated on either side of a zero mark or preferably has an indicator scale 15 mounted directly therebeneath, the slider bar 12 being mounted on the rails 13 in such a manner as to permit the bar 12 to stop and stay in any position after being displaced to such position by a bowl. Alternatively a marker slide collar 16 may be provided ahead of the slider bar 12 and caused to stop in a position to mark the distance to which the bowl travels. In this case the slider bar 12 may be designed so as to return to its original position at the termination of each delivery.

In the alternative form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 2-9, inclusive, of the drawings the inclined surface 10 is mounted on a pair of height adjusting legs 11 in the same manner as described with reference to FIG. 1. Also it will be seen that the side rails 13A are the equivalent of those marked 13 in FIG. 1 and have a confining influence to bowls passing over the surface 10.

Similarly, the back stop 14 serves in a manner identical to that previously described and is mounted at the high or elevated end of the surface 10 by any suitable means.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 2-9, inclusive, and now being described, the indicator or slider bar 12 of FIG. 1 has been replaced with a series of contact operating frames 17 suitably mounted in end bearing blocks 18, the axle of frame 17 and the bearing blocks 18 being recessed into the playing surface 10 by an amount equal to the diameter of the frame axle which allows the frame 17 to protrude above the surface 10 by an amount equal to approximately the thickness of the frame as shown more clearly in FIG. 5.

It will be observed with specific reference to FIG. 5 that the left and right hand running edge-s of the frame 17 will be depressed into the longitudinal recess provided below such running edges when acted upon by the weight of a bowl passing thereover and also that the bearing blocks 18 are flush, or nearly flush, with the surface 10 of the playing area.

A spring leaf contact 19 is mounted below one edge of the frame 17 as shown and electrical contact is made to a visual score indicator box 20 mounted on or above the elevated end of the surface (see FIG. 9) via conductors 21 and 22, one from the frame 17 and the other from the spring leaf contact 19 as shown.

From this, it will be observed that as the right hand edge of frame 17 is depressed by a passing bowl (see FIG. 5) into its longitudinal recess, then that edge makes electrical contact with the leaf contact 19, and through any suitable source of electrical power, an indicator light will come on in the box 20 to visually display at which point the bowl has just passed on the playing surface 10.

In order to temporarily maintain contact between the edge of frame 17 and the leaf contact 19 for a period to conveniently display the light in circuit with this frame, the axle of the frame 17 in the bearing blocks 18 has a restrictive or torsional effect imparted thereto by a pair of compression springs 24, the compression of which can readily be adjusted by means of screw nuts on the extremities of the axle of the frame 17 as illustrated clearly in FIGS. 4 and 7.

An alternative method of maintaining closed contact between the frame 17 and the leaf contact 19 can be by way of magnets 26 placed in the frame recesses and directly below the running edge of the said frame. This latter method is illustrated in FIG. 8 and, if used, it would be preferable to insert a pair of such magnets below each running edge of the frame 17.

With reference to FIG. 6 of the drawings, an alternative form of contact, to replace the leaf 19, is provided, and which comprises a glass or other insulatory tube 27 filled with mercury 28, the mercury being in electrical contact with the conductor 22 in a manner similar to that illustrated in FIG. 5.

A contact spike or pin 29 is brazed or otherwise secured to the running edge of the frame 17 and when depressed by the passage of a bowl thereover, will enter the mercury 23 and thereby make the necessary electrical connection to illuminate a light bulb in the score indicator box 20. Contact is temporarily maintained by either of the two methods illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, that is by the torsional or clutch effect of spring 24 or the magnetic restraining influence of the magnets 26.

It will be appreciated that the playing surface 10 is normally and preferably covered with a suitable material affixed to such surface in a manner which will not in any way hamper the movements of the frames 17 as a bowl passes thereover.

Describing the operation of the invention firstly with reference to the form illustrated in FIG. 1.

The apparatus is placed on a fiat surface such as a carpet at a distance from the mat or delivery end, which has previously been determined.

The inclination of the playing surface 10 can be adjusted by way of the legs 11 to regulate the force required to deliver the bowl to the desired point.

The transverse slider bar 12 is now set to 3 feet below the zero mark on the side scales 15 and a bowl is delivered to the area bounded by the rails 13 and back stop 14 with a view to moving the bar 12 to the zero mark and which would, in this case, indicate a perfect shot.

If, on the other hand, the bowl has displaced the bar 12 to a position say 3 feet past zero, then this distance will indicate the excess in length of delivery. Still further, if the bowl has displaced the bar 12 to a position which is, say 2 feet on the low side of the zero, then the player may assume that his delivery length is short by this amount.

In every instance the delivered bowl will be returned to the playing or mat end by the gravitational roll influenced by the incline and it will be appreciated that, generally speaking, only one such bowl is required by each player during play.

The pitch of the incline may be raised or lowered to increase or decrease the force required to propel the bowl to the desired point. The leading or lower edge of the surface is preferably bevelled to give a smooth lead-in to the incline playing surface in order to eliminate bump which could possibly occur when a bowl strikes the leading edge at speed.

It will be appreciated that the apparatus can be modified on its playing surface to provide for the effect of bias on a bowl, but it is primarily intended to be used in the manner described, that is, to practice accuracy, strength and good delivery when using standard bowls indoors under conditions made as near as possible to those pertaining to a full size bowling green or to play a game where success is dependent on any of those factors.

The operation of the second, form of the invention as illustrated in FIGS. 2-9, inclusive, is precisely the same as that described with reference to FIG. 1 except that the indicator or slider bar 12 is replaced by the series of operating frames 17 each of which on being depressed by a bowl passing thereover will make electrical contact through a source of power and visually by way of a light bulb and so indicate the precise position that the bowl has reached during play.

This will be clearly seen with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 wherein the lower running edge of frame 17 in FIG. 4 and the left hand side of FIG. 5 respectively are considered to be the lower and normally hidden edges of the frames 17. A bowl moving up the inclined surface of the playing area 10 passes unimpeded over this lower edge and then strikes the raised or upper edge of frame 17 depressing it into the recess there below and effecting an electrical contact by way of either of the two methods seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. At this point a light bulb is illuminated in the score indicator box 20 and visually indicates what position the bowl has reached.

Should the bowl be delivered with a force which will carry it over all the frames 17 and up to the stop 14, then the last light to show is the score, in this case zero.

The bowl on the way back down the incline along the path of frame 17, will, of course, strike the lower and now raised edges of the frames 17 and depress these edges back into their recesses, thereby breaking the electrical contacts and cancelling all visual score indicators in the box 20.

It will be appreciated that while the device shown in FIG. 1 is primarily intended for the purposes of indoor practice of the game of lawn bowls, the preferred form shown in the remaining figures or drawings, While being the same in principle to the early conception of the device, are particularly useful and adaptable to the indoor game of competitive lawn bowls where the degree of skill of a player is visually or otherwise recorded for the purposes of maintaining a score during a game.

Used in this way it will be further appreciated that the latter form has particular application to installations in clubs, public houses etc. where charges for the use of the device may be made and prizes may be offered to those players attaining certain degrees of skill in its use.

While the invention has been described with reference to two specific forms of making suitable electrical contact during the passage of a bowl over pivoted frames carrying such contacts, it is to be understood that the basic principle in operation is not to be overshadowed by the use of alternative means of making such electrical contact and/ or maintaining such contact long enough for an effective visual record of the scores made.

I claim:

A bowls practising apparatus, comprising an inclined playing surface, adjustable means for supporting said surface connected to the inclined surface at one end thereof, confining rails running parallel to and mounted on the sides of said inclined surface, a back stop retained on the high end of the inclined surface, said score indicator means comprising a series of contact operating frames each pivotally mounted on an axle and lying within said 5 inclined playing surface, said frames being adapted to close and open electrical contacts mounted therebeneath upon being depressed by the passage of a bowl thereover, and means predeterminedly adjustable for selectively controlling the time each of the frames is depressed when said bowl passes thereover, said last named means comprising an adjustable compression spring mounted on an end of the axle for restraining the pivoting of the frame, whereby to maintain the electrical contacts associated with said frame closed for a desired period of 10 time.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,582,183 4/1926 Maurcr 273176 2,219,934 10/ 1940 Nelson 273-1 19 2,914,327 11/1959 Gineta 273119 X FOREIGN PATENTS 669,226 8/1963 Canada. 736,447 9/ 1932 France.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. 

